Subaru’s totally new Forester sports-utility – which only went on sale in the UK last month – has won the fiercely-fought ‘Special Award’ as part of the 2003 RJC ‘Car of the Year’ awards.

The RJC ‘Car of the Year’ awards is one of the most prestigious automotive awards in Japan and is presented at the highly-respected Automotive Researchers’ and Journalists’ Conference.

The judges chose the All-Wheel Drive Forester because of its convenient and practical body size, comfortable ride and handling precision. They also praised the new Subaru’s combination of off-road ability, thanks to a 190 mm ground clearance, and on-road stability created by the low-centre-of-gravity ‘boxer’ engine.

The new Forester is priced from £16,445 on-the-road, leads the petrol SUV class for economy and emissions with, for example, 42.2 mpg on the Extra Urban Cycle for the 2.0 X, and offers owners significantly reduced insurance and repair costs.